US, France play catch-up on Karabakh after Russia deploys troops
France and America are anticipated to send diplomats to Moscow soon to go over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Russia said on Thursday, two days after the Kremlin deployed troops to the ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan to secure a truce. The arrival on Tuesday of the peacekeepers to oversee the ceasefire between Azeri troops and ethnic Armenian forces in the enclave extends Russia's military footprint among the former Soviet republics it views as its strategic yard.
Moscow co-chairs a global group overseeing the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute with Washington and Paris, nevertheless, they were not mixed up in the deal signed by Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan to get rid of six weeks of fighting over the enclave. "In no way do you want to distance ourselves from our American and French colleagues," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. "Moreover, we've invited them to Moscow. They will arrive within the next few days to go over how they can donate to the implementation of the achieved agreements."
The accord, which locked in territorial gains by Azeri troops against ethnic Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, triggered protests in Armenia calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan when it was announced in early stages Tuesday. A huge selection of protesters rallied for a third day in the Armenian capital Yerevan on Thursday chanting "Nikol is a traitor!". Then they marched to the Security Service headquarters to demand the release of some opposition leaders and activists detained on Wednesday.
Pashinyan, elected in 2018 after street protests against alleged corruption ousted the former elite, said on Thursday he previously signed the accord to secure peace and save lives. Armenians living nearer to Nagorno-Karabakh, which includes reported a lot more than 1,300 losses among its fighters, had mixed feelings but welcomed the tiny columns of Russian peacekeepers making their way to the enclave on Thursday. "
We are happy that peacekeepers came but as well we are sad that we are quitting that territory," Armen Manjoyan, a 45-year-old driver, said beyond your Armenian village of Yelpin between Yerevan and the Azeri border. "We all fought for it, nonetheless it proved in vain," he said. "I believe it was not the proper decision."
Turkey, which includes backed Azerbaijan over the conflict, signed a protocol with Russia on Wednesday to establish a joint center to coordinate efforts to monitor the peace deal, agreed after three previous ceasefire attempts quickly broke down. The facts of the monitoring have yet to be exercised and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday that Russian officials were due in Ankara on Friday to go over them.
Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized within Azerbaijan, which now joins eight other former Soviet republics where Russia includes a military presence. Moscow has military bases in five neighboring states in addition to troops in regions that have broken from three others.
